Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly addressed the Iranian people and told them that the Iranian leadership does not care about them and is not protecting them.
Netanyahu released a videotaped message in English on Monday afternoon, saying: "I speak a lot about the leaders of Iran. Yet at this pivotal moment, I want to address you – the people of Iran. I want to do so directly, without filters, without middlemen."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the Iranian people
(Video: GPO)
"Every day, you see a regime that subjugates you, makes fiery speeches about defending Lebanon, defending Gaza. Yet every day, that regime plunges our region deeper into darkness and deeper into war. Every day, their puppets are eliminated. Ask Mohammed Deif. Ask Nasrallah," he said, referring to Israel's killing of leaders of Iranian terror proxies.
"There is nowhere in the Middle East Israel cannot reach. There is nowhere we will not go to protect our people and protect our country. With every passing moment, the regime is bringing you — the noble Persian people — closer to the abyss. The vast majority of Iranians know their regime doesn't care a whit about them. If it did care, if it cared about you, it would stop wasting billions of dollars on futile wars across the Middle East. It would start improving your lives," he said.
"Iran’s tyrants don’t care about your future; But you do," he added.
He described a world in which Iran and Israel are at peace, instead of Iranian citizens living in "endless poverty, repression and war."
"Don't let a small group of fanatic theocrats crush your hopes and your dreams. You deserve better. Your children deserve better. The entire world deserves better," he said, concluding: "The people of Iran should know – Israel stands with you. May we together know a future of prosperity and peace."